Local decisions. Public records. Your community.
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Headed to the annual Downtown Trick-or-Treat tomorrow? Make sure to visit us! City staff will be handing out candy at the Central Library, the Lightcatcher, and City Hall Friday, Oct. 30, from 4–6 p.m. There are also more than 100 participating downtown businesses to visit. It’s free and open to all with no registration required — no boo-rocracy here!
Every year, City Council holds budget sessions to help ensure we’re allocating resources responsibly and transparently. On Monday, Nov. 2, City Council will be diving into details of the proposed 2027 budgets for Parks and Recreation, Public Works, Library, and Whatcom Museum. In the evening, they will hold a public hearing about the full 2027 proposed budget. Learn more about how we create our budget and the details of this year’s proposed budget on our budget page .
Arboretum Drive and adjacent trails will close Nov. 2–5 and 9–12 while City Urban Forestry and Washington Conservation Corps crews remove a 1‑acre patch of invasive Siberian elms. These non‑native trees spread aggressively, outcompete native plants, and threaten the Arboretum’s ecological health. Removing the mature patch now will prevent thousands of new seedlings next spring and help protect local biodiversity.
The days are getting shorter as winter approaches, and this Sunday, it’s time to “fall back” again. With the clocks shifting back an hour, evenings will get darker earlier, so it’s especially important to look out for one another on the roads . Whether you’re driving, walking, or biking, stay alert and make visibility a priority. If you’re on foot or on wheels, wear something bright or reflective so drivers can see you. Slowing down and paying attention helps ensure everyone gets home safely.
There’s a lot that goes into making sure Bellingham’s drinking water is clean and safe, and our Water Treatment Plant has once again earned statewide recognition for doing it well. For the 15th consecutive year, the plant has received an award through the Washington State Department of Health’s Treatment Optimization Program . The award recognizes the City’s success in consistently removing tiny particles from drinking water, an important part of the treatment process that helps protect public health.
5 separate stories from this newsletter.
Arboretum Drive and adjacent trails will close Nov. 2–5 and 9–12 while City Urban Forestry and Washington Conservation Corps crews remove a one‑acre patch of invasive Siberian elms.
Published activity records dated 2026-10-29 include 51 Bellingham Police entries.
The good news: our cleanup partner, Whatcom County Public Works, is making steady progress on its multi-year construction project to manage asbestos-laden sediment and control flooding in Swift Creek.
Published activity records dated 2026-10-28 include 38 Bellingham Police entries.
Much like Opportunity Council beginning in a small room with just a typewriter, CAZ had its own humble beginnings—this time in a garage with a Subaru. CAZ, “Comfort from A to Z,” was founded in 2010 by Dan Dunne. A former employee of Opportunity Council, Dan took the skills he gained working in our Weatherization program and launched his own business doing energy audits. He joined forces with a friend, James Reider, to expand to insulation services and the company quickly began to grow from there.
Construction for the Western Welcome Center, located at the south end of the academic core of campus, remains on schedule after excellent progress made through the summer and into the fall. Structural steel installation was completed on Sept. 28, and exterior wall framing has begun. Concrete slabs have been poured on all levels.
Sandra Alfers, Professor of German in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures has been awarded the 2026 Goethe-Institut/AATG Certificate of Merit. She is one of only nine educators nationally to be recognized this year.
Five performances only on Mainstage in the Performing Arts Center November 20 through 22.
The Department of Art and Art History invites undergraduate students to participate in the first annual Art History Undergraduate Symposium, which will take place in February 2027 on WWU Bellingham campus.
Published activity records dated 2026-10-27 include 44 Bellingham Police entries.
Artificial intelligence tools can help summarize information, draft content, generate ideas and save time. Many Western employees are already exploring how these tools can support teaching, research and administrative work.
National Geographic’s November 2026 issue features a cover photo of a diver swimming through vivid blue water past a galaxy of crimson Antarctic sea stars. The diver is Dexter Davis, a Western Washington University alumnus.
Groceries are expensive! Join us on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. in Red Square to sign up for SNAP/Food Assistance. SNAP is the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that provides free grocery money to individuals who are eligible. We will have DSHS (Department of Social and Health Services) to help students through the entire application process.
When: Monday, Nov. 2, 5 p.m.
For more than 50 years, Washingtonians have relied on regulatory tools and the stewardship of local agencies and tribes to protect our environment. Most notably, the Washington State Department of Ecology was the first governmental agency in the U.S. to focus on clean water and the environment. Ecology pre-dates the federal Clean Water Act and goes above and beyond federal requirements for protection of water, land and wildlife.
In his new book, “Rethinking Social Justice,” WWU Communication Studies Professor Michael Karlberg argues that social justice movements could use an injection of radical imagination.
WWU students who have experienced stalking, sexual assault, intimate partner violence and/or sexual harassment have the option to seek support and/or report to the Office for Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance (CRTC). Please note that CRTC is not a confidential resource but is an office that prioritizes your privacy.
Published activity records dated 2026-10-26 include 54 Bellingham Police entries.
Western Washington University was among the recipients of the Zero+ Champions of Sustainability award presented at Lumen Field Oct. 11.
Published activity records dated 2026-10-25 include 45 Bellingham Police entries.
If you live in Northwest Washington, or even if you just love to visit, you know it’s a place worth protecting. That’s why we’re launching our Give Like You Live Here campaign: a 48-hour fundraiser for local environmental advocacy and action, November 10th–11th.
Published activity records dated 2026-10-24 include 37 Bellingham Police entries.
A new book co-authored by Associate Professor of Anthropology Natalie Baloy prepares scholars for the ethical questions they’ll face in community-based research projects.
"Ability Awareness," a PBS program produced, directed, and edited by WWU Studio Art instructor Peter Rand, won the 2026 NETA Public Media Award in the Education category. Rand has produced the program for five years.
Published activity records dated 2026-10-23 include 40 Bellingham Police entries.
Western Washington University Art and Art History students with professors Cynthia Camlin and Monique Kerman are hosting an open studio event at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts in studio 1 of La Cebo building 17, Esplanade du port in Auvillar, France on October 29 from 5 to 7 p.m.
Celebrate Make a Difference Day and Arbor Day with the City and Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA) at Cornwall Memorial Park on Saturday, Nov. 7, from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Together, we will plant native trees and shrubs and remove invasive weeds near Squalicum Creek to improve water quality, salmon habitat, and our urban forest.
The Bellingham RFA Planning Committee heard public input on the draft plan for a new regional fire authority at their Oct. 14 public hearing. The Committee will meet again on Oct. 26 in the Mayor’s Boardroom at Bellingham City Hall at 2 p.m. to consider final revisions to the plan and take a vote to approve it.
Night work starting soon on Ellis Street watermain replacement
3 separate stories from this newsletter.
Published activity records dated 2026-10-22 include 42 Bellingham Police entries.
Kaiser Borsari Hall reached a major sustainability milestone with its recent dual certification by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) as a Zero Carbon and Zero Energy building. With this achievement, Kaiser Borsari Hall became the first higher education STEM building in the United States to earn both certifications simultaneously—and the first state-funded building in Washington to receive ILFI certification as an approved alternative to the LEED Silver standard required by state law.
Western's Center for Canadian-American Studies will host “Québec-U.S. Relations: A Path Forward” Nov. 5, a virtual roundtable discussion on Québec-U.S. relations in light of upcoming U.S. federal midterm elections and the recent provincial elections.
Phishing emails are becoming more convincing.